USS Guardian fuel extraction underway to prevent oil spill in reef

PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan – The critical process of fuel extraction to prevent an oil spill in reef from the grounded USS Guardian in Tubbataha Reef is now underway and may be expected to be completed within 48 hours, according to the Philippine Coast Guard.

However, the full extent of the damage to the UNESCO-declared marine wildife preserve won’t be known until the ship is removed by the end of January.

The damage had earlier been conservatively estimated at 1,000 square meters, but World Wildlife PHL’s Lory Tan, who has been studying aerial photographs of the grounded US ship, estimates the damage as closer to 2400 square meters.

At least two privately-contracted lift ships are currently underway from Singapore and are scheduled to arrive on January 30 to help extract the Guardian to avoid an oil spill. Until then, Balilo said that the ship is expected to remain stable and hopefully won’t do further damage.

On January 20, three days after the Guardian ran aground, continuous waves from the north caused the ship to shift 90 degrees, but it has remained in this position since then.

He pointed out that minesweeping vessels normally have wooden hulls encased in a very thin outer layer of aluminum, so as not to attract magnetic underwater mines. Had the Guardian’s hull been made of metal plating, as in other military ships, it would have plowed straight into the reef, ripping it apart.

Pacheco also said that minesweepers are designed with fuel tanks elevated higher above the water compared to other vessels as a precaution against underwater mines. This therefore made the fuel tanks more accessible for extraction.

However, Pacheco said that an assessment has yet to be made of the integrity of the Guardian’s ballast tanks —compartments that are designed to be flooded with seawater, to help stabilize the ship.

He said that the ballast tanks would need to be emptied so that recovery crews can safely lift the ship. It is hoped that the water contained in the tanks is just local seawater, or else it might contain organisms that are not indigenous to the area and which may harm the corals.